Gold just part of a weatherproof portfolio: Pro

Matthew McLennan, First Eagle head of global value, discusses opportunities in gold mining.

Gold represents a smart hedge in an uncertain global investment climate, Matt McLennan, head of global value at First Eagle, said Wednesday.

"The goal for us is to create an all-weather portfolio," he said. "And I think what I'd say is that we're in an environment where risk assets are trading at rather-elevated levels relative to history on the back of very easy policy."

On CNBC's "Halftime Report," he said that his portfolio held 70 percent of its assets in equities, 20 percent in cash and 10 percent in gold and gold miners.

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"We live in a world where there's too much debt and not enough jobs, and that's leading to financial repression everywhere," McLennan said. "And in a world of monetary abundance, we're looking for scarcity, be it in businesses that have hard-to-replicate assets or business models, or in gold itself as nature's alternative to the man-made financial architecture."

Noting that gold tends to perform well "when risk assets are out of favor and vice versa," McLennan said that it was part of a well-balanced portfolio rather than a stand-alone call on the precious metal.

"Suffice to say if you think gold is an important part of the ballast of a portfolio, and if you can get it at a discount through the ownership of a gold miner, that makes sense," he said. "And in the case of Gold Corp., you're getting a 2 percent-plus dividend yield as well. So, gold at a discount with a yield seems to make sense to us as part of a long-term investment portfolio."